


Call of Gwen Pendragon

by Uniasus



Series: Add A Seat To The Table [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, King Merlin (Merlin), Modern Day, Multi, Post-Battle of Camlann (Merlin), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29589594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uniasus/pseuds/Uniasus
Summary: Arthur's back. The knights are back. Gaius is back. And Gwen, Gwen's back too.Merlin has no idea how Arthur's going to act when he finds out Merlin was Gwen's second husband.
Relationships: Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwen/Merlin (Merlin), Gwen/Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Add A Seat To The Table [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173905
Comments: 18
Kudos: 96





	Call of Gwen Pendragon

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, kudos to Author_Pendragging for finding an old 2016 fic I wrote, and then reading and commenting on it twice in roughly three months. What can I say, you inspired me to write more in this verse.

Merlin’s home hadn’t been designed for more than three people, but with everyone from Camelot once again alive and in need of accommodation it had to change. He magically nudged his house. Outside it still looked like a large cabin, inside it now had an additional floor, seven new bedrooms, and an extra three bathrooms.

He let his house guests explore, retreating to the kitchen under the guise of making dinner. He had no plans to cook, but he’d needed the space.

For so long, he’d held onto the hope of Arthur rising. Of seeing his friends again, hearing their laughs. It’d overshadowed everything else; he should have thought ahead and planned better.

“What are we making?”

Merlin whirled. Gwen stood in the entry to the kitchen, eyeing the appliances. She knew none of the devices in name or function but came prepared to cook anyway. One of the many things that made him love her.

Tears filled Merlin’s eyes. “Gods, I missed you.”

Gwen rushed forward, a blur of purple fabric and curly hair, and pulled Merlin down into a kiss. He returned it greedily, before gently pulling back.

“I’m not your husband anymore, Gwen.”

“Well, neither is Arthur.”

“Gwen.”

“Merlin.”

She glared at him, hands on hips. Merlin pulled out his phone to call his favorite pizza place.

Gwen covered the device with her hand. “We need to talk about this _._ Now.”

Sighing, Merlin looked up at her. “Does Arthur know?”

“I’m not sure. You didn't want to share earlier, though you should have, Merlin. There’s a lot of questions about what happened after… after each of us died. Arthur is demanding answers, he knows there's something we're hiding, and I don’t know how long Leon can stand up to him. Even for you. Lance admitting he knew about your magic for as long as he did distracted Arthur for less than a minute.”

Gwen gave him a perceptive look, and Merlin shrugged. After close to forty years of marriage, Gwen knew all the details of Merlin's past. In the hours Arthur and Merlin had to themselves, they'd talked of Merlin's magic. There was more to say, of course, but Merlin revealed few post-Camlann details. Now, Arthur would get that information elsewhere.

“The spell is keyed to Arthur." Merlin returned to the subject at hand, locking eyes with Gwen. "You’re here because _Arthur_ wants you here. And he’ll need you.”

“And what about you, Merlin?”

“What? Of course, I want you here. But Arthur –“

“Stop it. Right now.”

Merlin blinked down at her. “Stop what?”

“I can’t believe I forgot you used to do this.”

"Do what?"

“Put Arthur first.”

“Arthur is more – “

“Merlin, don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

His mouth clicked shut.

“Leon, Percival, and I have known you longer than we knew Arthur. Our marriage was longer than mine to Arthur’s. Your _rule of Camelot_ was longer than Arthur’s.” Gwen didn’t yell, but she punctuated her words the same. Furious, crisp, no room for argument. “I will not watch you, I _will not let you,_ put Arthur above yourself. Don't push aside everything you, _we_ , did so Arthur gets a second chance.”

“But magic and destiny –“

“FORGET ABOUT THE PROPHECIES MERLIN!”

“Ahem.” Gaius stood in the doorway. “Leon and Percival are currently explaining to the rest of them the history of Camelot after Camlann. I expect you have half an hour before you get ambushed with questions.”

“Gaius!” Gwen pulled the physician into the kitchen. “Help me. Tell Merlin he can’t act as he did in the garden. We shouldn’t fall into line behind Arthur because that’s how it was in the sixth century.”

“She quite right, my boy.” Gaius put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “Yes, the prophecies said Arthur will rise again when Albion needed him. But they were wrong about Arthur leading Camelot into a golden age of magic.”

“We would have never managed what we did if Arthur hadn’t laid down foundations – “ 

“Foundations which he built after listening to your advice, and upon which you and Gwen laid solid stone.” He sighed. “When Arthur was alive, you put him above yourself many times. I don’t think any of us know them all.”

Merlin looked away. “Every time I put myself first, Gaius, there were consequences. Albion always reminded me my place was with Arthur.”

“As his servant? Perhaps the table outside and its spell won’t let you sit with us, but there’s a table in the next room that would.”

“I _can’t_ watch you stand behind Arthur and serve him like that again, Merlin. I refuse.” Gwen shook her head, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. “I imagine Percival and Leon feel similarly. And honestly, I don’t know if _Arthur_ wants you to do that either.”

“I’m his servant, of course, he does.”

Gwen slipped her hand into Merlin’s. “He pulled me aside. Thanked me for giving you a place at my Round Table. He looked so guilty for not doing it himself. I don’t, I don’t think he realized how wrongly he treated you. I can’t imagine that feeling will get better once he knows everything. Leon enjoyed fighting with you during the war against Essetir. Percival was so impressed with how we welcomed the druids and their integration into villages. The yields those fields produced. Percival nearly cried that first year.”

Gaius pulled out two coins from his pocket. “I assume you buried me with these, as I found them in my robes.”

Like any kingdom of the time, Camelot minted coins bearing the king’s profile. The left coin had Arthur’s profile, his Roman nose and strong chin. The right held Merlin’s own, with his sharp cheekbones and thinner lips. He'd felt silly posing for that portrait, but side-by-side the faces looked equally regal and proud.

“History changes,” Gaius said. “Asking us to go back to the early days of Arthur’s reign is not kind to any of us. The world changed, and we need to adapt. I doubt you want Arthur to become king of this land.”

“No,” Merlin admitted. “There’s already a queen. The prophecies simply say he would rise to help Albion.”

“And he will. _We_ will,” Gwen said. “But the Round Table and your spell are remnants of an older time. It doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t want it to. Arthur shouldn’t be the de facto leader.”

“Maybe it should be you,” Merlin teased.

“Maybe. Or…” Gwen pulled a third coin from her dress pocket and laid it on Gaius’s hand with the others. While Uther's coins had the Pendragon crest on the reverse side, for most of Arthur’s reign and all of Merlin’s the coins had contained profiles of both monarchs. Gwen’s face cast in metal fit perfectly with that of Merlin’s and Arthur’s.

“The Round Table was always a symbol of equality,” Gwen said. “I know we put more stock in the king or queen’s words, but we can spread that around. A triumvirate between the rules of Camelot.”

“Three is an important concept to the Old Religion,” Gaius added, “and if that's why we are here we should follow its ways.”

Merlin nibbled his lip.

“Come now, agápi mou,” Gwen said, reaching up to cup Merlin’s cheek. “You might deny yourself what you want, but I won't let you. I also know what it is. Me, you, Arthur. Together. That’s no hardship, is it?”

Merlin licked his lips. “Anything but.”

“We’ll talk with Arthur then. I don’t imagine any of the knights would complain.”

Merlin laughed. “I think they had a bet going at one point.”

He vaguely recognized Gaius placing the coins on the kitchen counter and leaving. Merlin was too focused on kissing Gwen instead. Loving, soft, like thousands they had before. 

“Okay.” Merlin smiled, and Gwen smiled back. “We’ll talk to Arthur. But first, let me call for pizza. If I don’t, the knights will start grumbling soon.”

“Oh, please do. I’m remembering how much Gwaine complained.”

Merlin kissed her again, on the tip of her nose.

“I’m really glad you came back with him. That you all did.”

“You’re the one who cast that spell, Merlin. We’re here for you as much as him. Get used to it.”

“I just might.”


End file.
